ORACLE RED BULL RACING THRILLS IN DUBLIN SPECTACLE
More than 15,000 spectators gathered on Dublin’s North Wall Quay for the Red Bull Showrun yesterday. Former Formula One Driver David Coulthard teamed up with Red Bull Athletes, Drifter Conor Shanahan and Motorcycle Stunt Rider Mike Jensen for the epic motorsports spectacle.
Fans were treated to an epic show as the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 car, alongside Shanahan’s GT86 and Jensen on his Suzuki GS500 Motorcycle performed a full repertoire of donuts, burnouts and speed stretches against a backdrop of Dublin’s River Liffey.
Coulthard’s RB8 car is a composite monocoque structure, designed and built in-house with a V8 engine. It won the Driver and Constructors World Championship in 2012 and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 2.4 seconds, reaching speeds of more than 250km/h on an open track.
Red Bull Showrun events have visited the four corners of the world, including locations that would not normally host an F1 event and in many cases giving people their first taste of Formula 1 up close. Visit RedBull.ie for more.
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DRIVER / RIDER BIOS:
David Coulthard:
David Coulthard is a living legend of British Formula One racing. Now retired, he’s still a familiar face around the paddock and on our TV screens.
David Coulthard started his racing career in karting when he was just 11, working his way up through the local championships and into Formula Ford in 1989, where he won the first ever McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award. In 1993, he was asked to be a test driver for the world champion F1 team Williams/Renault. Following the tragic death of Ayrton Senna, Coulthard was paired up with future world champion Damon Hill to complete the season for the team. Coulthard won his first Grand Prix in Portugal in ‘95. He signed with McLaren in 1996 and in 2005, Coulthard moved to Red Bull Racing where he became the highest-scoring British driver of all time with 535 race points, beating Nigel Mansell’s then-record of 482 points and gaining his rightful place in the annals of F1. In 2008, he retired from the sport but is still a familiar face around the paddock and on our television screens.
Conor Shanahan:
A formidable force in the world of drifting, Irishman Conor Shanahan is a regular winner on the British and European stage.
The youngest of the current crop of drivers hailing from Ireland that have been wowing crowds around the world, Conor Shanahan first started drifting at the age of 9 and competed in the Irish Amateur Championship. Having showcased his talent at the age of 13 by appearing on a UK TV show, Grand Tour, it didn’t take Conor long before he became the youngest driver ever to win British, Irish and European professional drifting events. This was achieved in 2018 when he made his debut in the Drift Masters European Championship, sensationally beating fellow Irishman, DMEC and Irish National champion, James Deane, at the Polish round of the championship. Conor’s success came as no surprise to his family, who are all heavily involved in motorsports. His brother, Jack, has achieved back-to-back British drifting championships, while his father won multiple rally titles and his mother is the only Irish woman to win a national championship. Now firmly established as a force in the sport of drifting, Conor is looking to become a regular podium finisher on the Drift Masters European Championship.
Mike Jensen:
Mike Jensen began his stunt riding career in 2010 when he changed his bike from a moped to a Suzuki GS500. Since then plenty of titles have come his way.
Mike Jensen first became interested in stunt riding from watching YouTube videos of a Swedish rider, Andreas, at the age of 15. As one of the youngest stunt riders in the sport Jensen can perform the most technical and creative tricks on a motorcycle – and he learned them on his own. He’s a double world champion in Stunt Riding and has an impressive CV as defending champion of the Irish Freestyle Stunt Series (IFSS), winner of the XDL Championship, winner of the Czech Stunt Day and MBE Verona, Italy (Motor Bike Expo), winner at German-Stuntdays (GSD) and 2016 and 2017 Stunt Masters Cup champion. This former blacksmith isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and having teamed up with Red Bull we’re sure he’ll be getting his hands on plenty more trophies in the future.